What happens next after contacting OIG?

The City of Chicago Office of Inspector General (OIG) is grateful to all who reach out to us about misconduct, waste, abuse, or mismanagement involving City officials, employees, contractors, or the Public Building Commission. Your willingness to raise concerns strengthens accountability and helps make Chicago government better for everyone.

In 2024, we received nearly 11,000 intakes—a 30 percent increase from last year. I do not believe this means more is going wrong. It means more people know who we are, what we do, and where to find us—and they’re willing to believe that if something goes wrong or if something could be improved, there is a government agency that will help.

What happens when you contact us?

Most intakes come to OIG through our online intake form at igchicago.org/contact-us or via email at talk2ig@igchicago.org. We also receive information by phone or other means. Every intake is reviewed by our trained intake specialists.

Some submissions cannot be investigated, about 50 percent are discontinued because they lack enough detail, are unclear, or fall outside our scope. Others may be spam or simple questions that do not raise potential wrongdoing. Even so, each message is read, categorized, and responded to appropriately.

We also refer complaints to other agencies, including law enforcement agencies and other offices of inspector general, as appropriate. In early 2025, about 24 percent of submissions were referred elsewhere, sometimes to more than one agency.

Rules around confidentiality

By law (the Municipal Code of Chicago) and by policy, our intakes are strictly confidential. This is to protect whistleblowers, witnesses, complainants who speak up when something goes wrong. It is vital to protect the confidentiality of those who might be accused of wrongdoing unfairly or without adequate foundation. We take our confidentiality obligations extremely seriously, and this allows us to ensure Chicagoans—including City employees—that they may speak freely and candidly with us when there is work to be done holding the government accountable.

I recognize the tradeoff in the uncompromising application of our confidentiality rules. We are often unable to share information about the status or the outcome of an intake, even with the person who was its source. While acknowledging that this may be a source of frustration at times, we will continue to prioritize protecting confidentiality—and therefore the rigor and independence—of our work.  

How We Decide What to Pursue

OIG evaluates every intake carefully. In determining whether to pursue issues raised during intake, among other factors, OIG evaluates the nature of the issue raised, which of OIG’s sections (Investigations, Public Safety, Audit and Program Review, etc.) might be best equipped to address the issue (which then may undergo review by the Deputy Inspector General for that section), and, if an intake alleges misconduct, the potential magnitude or significance of the allegations.

Following this review, OIG may open an investigative or non-investigative inquiry, decline an intake, or refer an intake elsewhere. Long gone are the days when OIG was equipped only to process intakes that took the form of misconduct complaints. Our centralized intake function permits us to learn more from more Chicagoans, and to find (or build) the right oversight hammer for each nail that comes to us.

You can remain anonymous

You do not need to give your name or contact details when submitting an intake to OIG. The more information you provide, the better chance we have to pursue the issue you raise thoroughly, particularly if we need to reach out for additional information. Even anonymous tips, however, can be tremendously valuable to us.

Transparency and reporting

Although we are often limited in what we can share due to our confidentiality rules, we publish quarterly reports that include up-to-date information on how many and what kinds of intakes we are receiving and what we are doing with them.

We are listening

If you see wrongdoing or believe something in City government can be improved, let us know. We are here to help build a more accountable, transparent government, and we want to make sure we are focused on the things that matter most to Chicagoans, the people who know this City best.

Respectfully,

Deborah Witzburg

Inspector General, City of Chicago